This invention relates to a method and system for processing customer inquiries over a computer network and, more particularly, to a method and system for processing an inquiry from a customer for environment and use specific parts with advanced iterative searching to reflect multiple alternatives and anticipated product use.
While numerous processes exist that permit various commercial and information transactions via a computer network such as the Internet, existing processes typically focus to a great extent on commodity products (i.e., products that are easily described by only name or catalog number and that do not contemplate that the customer would impose additional requirements above and beyond standard product specifications). In addition, these systems are typically focused on the supply of products, without the supplier providing assistance to the customer to verify the correctness of the customer choice for the purposes the customer anticipates using the product. Certain applications are available via the Internet such as so-called “configurators” and “wizards,” which enable a customer to select from lists of predetermined parameters or specify functions within a range. These systems, however, are developed ultimately to select combinations or arrangements of commodity products for sale to the customer.
It would thus be desirable to provide a method and system to effect complete commercial transactions via a computer network for products or services that must be uniquely adapted or verified for applicability on a customer application specific basis.